VINELAND - At age 13, most kids have taken to playing video games rather than creating them.

But it's a different story for Nickolas Casalinuovo, a Vineland native and Edgarton Christian Academy student who has co-created a free smartphone gaming app that will be released Friday on phones running the Android operating system.

And it's not even his first app.

"We're anxious to see how this grows," Casalinuovo said of the group venture. "We've put a lot of time and effort into this."

Set to be released following Casalinuovo's midday school exam is "Tap Quest," a single-player "platform leveler" game app that features a classic hero-saves-princess adventure.

Casalinuovo is one of four teens — who comprise the start-up company called Little Atmosphere — that developed the app.

Fittingly, he met his workmates online after making an Instagram post advertising his skills.

At 13, he is the youngest in a group of otherwise all 17-year-olds, but his skills are essential.

"I'm glad we can come together and make a really good one," Casalinuovo said of "Tap Quest."

Casalinuovo, who was individually responsible for coding the app, said the game's concept came together as a joint effort over the summer.

The teen spent many late nights at his computer "squashing bugs," he said.

But the work has paid off as the group is set to release its initial "bare bones" version of the app.

"It just kinda came together," Casalinuovo said. "I think it will turn out well in the end."

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(Photo: Craig Matthews/Staff Photographer)

In the game, a user will play as the hero and protagonist Knight, who is competing against bad guys with names like Ogre and Slime through various levels — until finally reaching the princess.

The game was inspired in part by the Nintendo classic Super Mario Bros., according to Casalinuovo.

"I got a lot of ideas from Mario," he said. "I really took that on as an inspiration."

While the app is free to download, Want to play a game? Vineland teen creates an app for that http://vineland.dj/1Nv73L8 via @theDailyJournal hopes to earn enough through advertising revenue and in-app purchases for character power-ups to pay for an Apple Macbook laptop. They say that would allow them to can create an iOS app version down the road.

A Macbook or Apple operating system-based computer is necessary to convert the app into one that can be downloaded and played on iPhones, Casalinuovo explained.

Casalinuovo has been coding for about a year and a half, he estimates, starting first with Java, then the Python programming language, HTML and finally C+, which he used to create code for "Tap Quest."

He learned everything from watching YouTube video tutorials and made his first attempt at an app last year, at age 12, but ended up not publishing it.

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(Photo: Craig Matthews/Staff Photographer)

On Friday, while most of his classmates will be finalizing their weekend plans as they leave school, Casalinuovo will be glued to his computer all day waiting for feedback, bug complaints and more after the app's release.

"I'll just be watching it all day," he said.

Casalinuovo is confident the app will catch on with his classmates and friends, and also game players across the Internet. He said 1,500 web page views have convinced him of the enthusiasm.

"It's definitely shown some interest," Casalinuovo said.

While 13 is still young for many people to consider what career options they want to pursue, Casalinuovo is committed to something involving computer technology.

He hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father, who has worked with a telecommunications company and also designed websites, he said.

"I definitely want something in computers," Casalinuovo said. "Maybe try hacking and work for the (National Security Agency) or as a game developer."

A future with his start-up company is foreseeable, too, as the group has begun to attract investors from New York, Casalinuovo said.

Casalinuovo would like to take a shot at a "major multiplayer online" app, which allows many people to play a game together at once.